


O Tannenbaum

by rubygirl29



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Christmas Story, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-22
Updated: 2011-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-27 18:01:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/298518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubygirl29/pseuds/rubygirl29
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ronon relies on his friends to give John a Christmas tree.</p>
            </blockquote>





	O Tannenbaum

**Author's Note:**

> Pure schmoop. Because that's what happens at Christmas.

Ronon didn't think much about holidays. Being the only Satedan on Atlantis, he didn't feel there was much reason to celebrate. He didn't talk about it, tried not to miss his people. Holidays were pretty low key as a rule on Atlantis. With so many different nationalities and religions represented, Dr. Weir tried to give everybody their significant holidays off while others covered their shifts.

However, there was something different about these holidays. People were excited, secretive. More Lanteans than usual were requesting trips to the mainland or their off-world trading partners, returning with smiles on their faces and wrapped parcels under their arms.

"What's going on?" Ronon asked Sheppard one night as they sat in John's room drinking beer and watching a DVD. He explained his puzzlement over the odd behavior of the city's residents.

"The holidays," Sheppard sighed.

"What holidays?"

"Kwanzaa-Chrisma-Hannukah," Sheppard gave him a wry smile. "Three big holidays all wrapped into one this year."

Ronon thought about it. "Which do you celebrate?"

"Christmas. I used to celebrate Christmas. Lately, not so much. Last Christmas I was trying to decide if I was going to commit to this project. Two years ago I was in Afghanistan in the mountains."

"Did you miss it?"

"I missed being at home. I missed seeing the lights, the music, the Christmas trees ..." His voice faded. "I'm hungry. Are you hungry? Let's go get something to eat."

The next day, Ronon went to talk to Carson Beckett and Rodney McKay. He had questions, and he didn't think John wanted to answer them. He left the infirmary with some silk suture thread and some brightly colored wristbands. He left Rodney's lab with some tiny LED lights that Zelenka strung on the suture thread and a tiny battery pack. Teyla contributed some strands of glass beads from her Athosian friends. Then Ronon went to the botany lab where David Parrish and Katy Brown argued amiably over what plant would work best for what Ronon wanted. They came up with a small tree with short spiky needles. They said it was coniferous, which sounded threatening to Ronon, until Katy explained it just meant that it was a tree that produced seeds a certain way and had needles instead of leaves. "Don't forget to water it," she cautioned.

"I won't."

It was a little difficult getting it to John's quarters without being seen by too many people. He had nearly made it when he literally ran into Major Lorne. He juggled the tree and his cache of goods until Lorne caught the tree and steadied it.

"Whoa, big guy. What's with the plant?"

Ronon knew he was blushing. "Plant. Christmas plant."

"Christmas tree?"

"Yeah." He dared Lorne to say anything disparaging, but Lorne just smiled. "For the Colonel?"

"He doesn't have one," he said defensively.

"What do you have for decorations?" Lorne seemed to think it was the coolest thing ever.

"Stuff. Can you open the door?"

Lorne waved his hand over the panel and it opened. Not unusual. Nobody was about to steal anything from a man who could shoot a P-90 with deadly accuracy. They carried the tree inside and set it on a table. "It looks lame," Ronon said.

"Nah, it will be fine. Just like Charlie Brown."

"Who?"

"Ask Sheppard. He'll know. I've seen some pretty scrawny trees turn into things of beauty once they're decorated. Let's get it set up. Lights first."

Ronon watched Lorne twist the strand of lights around the little tree and set up the battery pack. He turned them on and the tree didn't look quite as pathetic. They finished, and stood back. Lorne tilted his head. "You need a star. Wait here."

He came back a few minutes later with a slightly misshapen wire star sprinkled with sparkly gold glitter. "My nephew made this for me," he explained. "You give it to Colonel Sheppard." He fiddled with the lights so that the brightest ones shone on the topmost spike of the tree. "Put it on top of the tree, okay?" He held it up. "See?"

Ronon nodded. "Thanks, Lorne."

Lorne looked at Ronon, his blue eyes dark and serious. "Sheppard was my friend long before he was my CO. I've got family back home thinking of me. I'm not sure he has that. But he has his team and his friends here. Maybe this will remind him that we can be his family, too."

Ronon understood that. When he went into the Satedan army, it was the first lesson he had learned as a soldier. "Still, thanks."

Lorne looked at the tree. "It's nice." His radio pinged. _Major Lorne, report to the jumper bay._ He replied in the affirmative. "Gotta go. Incoming mission. I hope nobody brought back something they shouldn't."

Ronon looked at the tree. Lorne was right. It wasn't so pathetic in its glitter and shining ornaments. He turned off the lights and left.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
"Close your eyes," Ronon said, his hands on John's shoulders, guiding him through the door. "Don't open them."

"What's going on?" John asked suspiciously.

"Just wait. Don't be so impatient."

"You're a fine one to talk, Chewie."

Ronon released Sheppard. "Keep 'em closed."

"Okay, okay."

Ronon turned on the tree lights and dimmed the room lights. "Okay."

John blinked. "Ronon?"

"What? You don't like it."

John stood and took it in. The little tree, the lights, the shiny beads and foils. "Wow ..." He went over to the tree, touched the branches. "How did you do this?"

"Teyla, McKay, Beckett, Parrish and Katy Brown. And Lorne. He gave me this. Said I should give it to you."

"Lorne." John smiled and took the star from Ronon. "It figures. He's such a sucker for Christmas." He settled the glittering star on the top of the tree. He stood back and looked at it. "That's ... that's really great." His throat ached. "Thank you."

"It's a pretty scrawny tree," Ronon said.

"Don't diss my tree." He went to his small refrigerator and took out two bottles of beer ... the good stuff from Earth, so Ronon figured he had done something right.

Sheppard opened them, then clinked his against Ronon's. "Merry Christmas."

"It's good?"

"It's very good. Thanks, buddy. It's the best." They drank and watched the lights sparkle in the darkness. When the beer was gone, John sighed and turned up the lights a bit with a wave of his hand. His door chimed, but didn't open. John looked out at the vacant corridor. "Huh." His boot kicked against a small flat package. He picked it up and read the card. _I want this back, but you have first dibs._. Lorne's handwriting. He wondered where the hell Lorne had gotten Christmas paper.

"What is it?"

"Gee, I don't know. Knowing Lorne, it's probably C-4." He opened the package cautiously, and then grinned. "A Charlie Brown Christmas. Perfect."

Ronon didn't want to admit that he didn't have a clue as to who this Charlie Brown was. Sheppard would explain. They settled in, John stretched out on the bed, Ronon on his favorite chair in an easy slouch, long legs up on the bed. The Earth beer gave him a pleasant buzz, and he watched John's face as the music on the DVD started playing.

"This is great," Sheppard said, looking ridiculously young and happy. Maybe that was what Christmas was all about, Ronon thought. Remembering how magical the world was to a child, whether on Earth or on Sateda. Remembering where you came from, even when it was so far away that you couldn't even see the light from its stars. Maybe the star on the top of the tree was the one that led you home.

 **The End**


End file.
